San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-07-07
New Considerations OF the Rights OF
Man.

Indiana, in the number for June 30t
1859, We find an address "for the At
OF July and the middle OF the cen
tury," written by us while residing
in Iowa, in June, 1850. The follow
ing extracts are so entirely applica
bic and pertinent TO the present time
and our latest National anniyor
sary, that we feel persuaded on
readers will DO interested, and per
haps profited, by their perusal. Tho'
will also demonstrate that we are NJ
new convert to the principles therein
set forth, but that they date "away
back to our youth and early man
hood.-ED. FREE Press.
at has become q question worthy
Of consideration, whether the funda
mental truths of the Declaration OF
Independence, which its trainers held
TO be self-evident. but which were
so long in obtaining recognition, are
even yet so deeply felt, so fully APP
preciated, as they deserve to be. ]
confess ! fear they are not. What,
fellow-c citizens, are these truths
That all men are created equal; that
they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights; that
among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness that for these
ends governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just pow
ers from the consent Of the govern
ed The first of these self-evident
trrths, That all men are created
equal" some of you may be surpris-
ed to learn, is openly repudiated by
certain politicians. A celebrated sec
tional statesman, recently deceased,
denied and denounced this sentiment
of Jefferson in the senate of the Uni
ted States; and his followers still do
the same thing. They bubble at it
by saying that all men are
not created equal, because some are
endowed with more physical
strength or power of mind than 9th
ers and by urging other objections
even more puerile than these; shun.
ming the obvious, brit to them unwel-
come meaning Of the sentiment, that
all men are equally entitled to the
enjoyment of those inalienable rights
of life, liberty and the pursuit of
with which their Creator,
has endowed them.
II come now to notice some of
these new applications of the Rights
Of Man, to which I have already al
ready alluded. The Declaration goes
On to assert, that all men are endow-
cd with certain inalienable rights, and
that among these these are life, lib
srty and the pursuit of happiness.
Now does not this self-evident truth
necessarily presuppose. that all men
nave other inalienable rights to the
means of enjoying life, liberty and
he pursuit of happiness What
would avail an empty, abstract de-
,laration of human rights, if the
leans by which only those rights can
,e enjoyed are withheld Would it
lot be mockery, for instance, to say
o one of the landless, down-trodden
Millions Of Europe, writhing under
he horrors of extreme, general desti-
ution, Sir. you are o free
nan, you have inalienable rights to
ife, liberty and the pursuit of
Well, acting upon SINH
ar plain and Obvious considerations,
people who have had these pompous
entiments sounded in their ears
rom time immemorial, without much
experience Of their truth
Who have had the shadow
the substance-are nat
rally becoming DESTROYS OF
possessing the means of realizing
heir rights. AS the most important
t those means, they are beginning
0 insist that every man should have
Home--a portion of Gods earth,
here he may sit under his own vine
nd fig tree, with none to modest or
lake him afraid" This is most assur-
dly essential to the full enjoyment
life, liberty and the pursuit of hap |
mess and consequently, is as much |
n inalienable right as are those. 1t
getting to be prevalent opinion,
nd think a just one, that every man
as as perfect a natural right to a
ortion of the soil, to q home, as he
as to the air he breathes. The in
eritance descends to him from the
eneficent Creator, and no other man
as n right to withhold it from him.
hank God. these matters are begin
ing to be understood This thing /